


Perhaps I May Have Feelings For You

by juviin



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, One Night Stands, Tags will be added, Verdant Wind route, lorenz hellman gloucester is a BRO, sexy times but i cut it off before the actual sex, spoilers for chapter 11, they just make out so honest;y idk if its m or t, theyre just fucking around and drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-01-22 18:30:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21306620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juviin/pseuds/juviin
Summary: After the fall of Garreg Mach, emotions are all over the place. Just about everyone is confused or scared, and Claude and Hilda are just two teens stuck in the middle of it all with personal problems to deal with, too. There's a war now though, so they don't particularly have time for romance, no matter how their hearts try to oppose that rule.
Relationships: Hilda Valentine Goneril/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. The Final Days of Garreg Mach

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting on ao3 so sorry if the formatting ends up wacky...
> 
> Also, there will be more of this, at least like 2 more chapters, but maybe more.

Garreg Mach was a complete disaster. Everyone, from students to clergy to merchants, was trying to vacate the school as soon as possible. The losses from the last battle were immeasurable, and the Adrestian army was still nearby. Waiting. 

Claude, as well as a few other students were still in the monastery, helping the injured and dealing with the deceased. The students in the dorms were condensed into sharing rooms with one or two others, in order to make room for those whose lodgings were destroyed. 

Seteth announced that they would be abandoning the monastery, and advised the students to leave quickly. 

Claude went up to the second floor of the dormitories, only to see Hilda standing in front of his door, seemingly conflicted. 

“Hil? What’s wrong?” Hilda practically jumped out of her own skin hearing Claude’s voice behind her.

“I-I don’t really know. I was just walking around and thinking and I somehow ended up here because-” Hilda cut herself off, snapping her mouth shut.

“Why?” Hilda hesitated, looking into Claude’s eyes and then away again.

“I-I’m not quite sure myself. Everything that’s happened has just…” Tears started to well up in her eyes.

“Do you want to go in?” Hilda nodded and Claude unlocked his door. They both sat next to each other on his bed, just as they had done so many times in the past. 

“Everything’s just been so sudden,” Hilda’s voice cracked, “I mean, I literally had lunch with Edie and the professor just a few days ago! And now the professor is missing and Edie is-she’s-” Hilda couldn’t finish her sentence, not wanting to admit the fact that Edelgard had become their enemy. 

“I know. It’s scary.” Claude put his left arm around her shoulders, and she collapsed into him. She muffled her cries in his chest, and he didn’t even mind the knowledge that her mascara was likely running, smudging, and getting on the white shirt he had worn that day. 

“Claude...can I stay with you for a bit?” Hilda’s fingers gripped the back of his tunic. 

“Of course. Lorenz shouldn’t be here until later.”

“Thank you, Claude.” She pulled him down, much to his shock, so they were both lying down on his bed. She buried her face in his chest and rubbed his back. Claude gently pulled the hair ties out of her hair, and ran his fingers through her hair.

A few minutes passed, and Hilda’s arms slowly halted while Claude continued to caress her hair.

“Hil?” He whispered, “Hey, Hilda are you asleep?” There was no response. Just as Claude was about to get up to wake her up, or just bring her to her room, his door opened. 

Lorenz looked straight at him, wide eyed.

“You-”

“Shh!” Claude began to whisper, “nothing happened. I swear.” Claude stood up slowly and gently folded the blanket off of Hilda. He decided not to wake her, so he just lifted her princess style, and headed towards the door, which Lorenz opened wider for him. He headed down the hall to Hilda’s room, hoping Lysithea would be in the room.

He knocked on the door with his foot, and luckily Lysithea opened it. 

“Oh? Is Hilda okay?”

“Yeah,” Claude walked in and over to Hilda’s bed, laying her down softly, “she just fell asleep.”

“Thanks for bringing her over.” Lysithea waved as Claude walked back down the hall. 

Lorenz, in Claude’s room, was only looking at Claude incredulously as he walked in the door.

“Performing  _ illicit _ activities as a nobleman--to a noble lady no less--is bad enough on its own, but can you  _ at least _ not do it when we are supposed to be sharing a room.”

“That isn’t what happened, you know we were both fully clothed when you walked in, but I am way too tired to deal with you right now.” Lorenz sputtered, trying to dispute him, while Claude just ignored him. 

Just before falling asleep, Claude looked at his wrist and noticed the two pink hair ties wrapped around his wrist. 

* * *

Hilda was tired. She could hear shuffling and muffled voices outside her room. She turned around to see that Lysithea had already gotten up and left. 

Due to the mess caused by the attack, several of the students were staying there, but all planned to leave, never knowing when the Empire would come back. Hilda knew that Goneril soldiers would be there that day to escort her back, which was the exact reason why she didn’t want to get up.

There was a knock on her door, and Hilda groaned. She got up, wrapping one of her quilts around her shoulders due to the chill in the air, and walked over to the door. 

Outside were Holst, clearly the one who had knocked, Claude, and two of Holst’s soldiers. 

“Holst? Why are you-” Hilda’s brother cut her off, wrapping his arms around her. The first thing she noticed was that this wasn’t his usual way of hugging her--over the top and almost comical. This hug was tight and anxious, and Holst was shaky and close to tears as he whispered “Thank the Goddess you’re okay.”

“Holst...Holst!” Hilda tapped him on the back, hardly able to breathe.

“Oh! Sorry Hilda. Get ready and say goodbye to your friends. We’ll be heading back to father after I gather more information on what happened here.”

Hilda frowned. “Holst, wait! We should at least wait a few days, shouldn’t we?”

“Hilda, you know that father will want a report as soon as possible. And besides, I shouldn’t be away from the border for too long. We’ll leave tonight at the latest.” Hilda pouted, and she noticed Claude shrug and smile as Holst closed the door on her. 

“Sorry about her, Sir Claude.”

“No, it’s just regular ol’ Hilda. She’s probably just shaken up over everything,” Claude said with a laugh, knowing that she didn’t want to go. He thought about the night before, Hilda’s tears.

“Still,” Holst frowned, “especially with what’s just happened, I need her to step up.” Holst hesitated for a moment, then stopped and looked at Claude.

“Is something wrong?”

“Hilda...She’s still very immature. I suppose it’s my fault, I’ve been spoiling her since we were children, but I’m a general. If Fodlan is about to be overrun with war, I will be put on the front lines. And if I die in combat, then my sister-” Holst stopped abruptly when he heard a door open behind him.

“Holst? Claude? What’s wrong?” Hilda walked over to the two men.

“Nothing. You can come if you would like. Sir Claude was going to tell me about the events of the other day.” Hilda frowned, but only for a moment.

“Alright, I’ll come along too. I fought quite well in that battle, I’ll have you know.”

“Oh? Did you?” Holst smiled at her.

“Of course I did! Didn’t I, Claude?”

“I was just joking, Hil. You’re my little sister! I knew you’d be incredible.” He put his arm around her, and Claude noticed a rare proud smile on her face. 

As they walked, a Goneril soldier came up to the group.

“Sir Holst, there seems to be a storm coming in from the north. It is likely that it will prevent the Empire from moving in on the monastery for a bit, but it also seems that we won’t be able to leave until at least tomorrow morning.” Holst frowned. 

“We should do everything to make sure that everyone is ready to leave once the storm lets up. Tell everyone to assist all of the students and faculty.”

“Yes sir. We’ll make sure that the whole monastery is ready to leave by tonight.”

“Thank you.” Holst smiled at the soldier and the trio continued walking. 

The three of them decided to eat while Claude and Hilda debriefed Holst about the battle a few days prior, and in the dining hall, Hilda and Holst sat across from Claude. 

They spoke for a while, but during a quiet moment, Claude noticed both Hilda and Holst staring intently at his wrist. Hilda with shock on her face, and Holst merely...confused? Claude looked down and saw what had been captivating their attention. Two bright pink hair ties, the likes of which Claude would never own.

Deciding to ignore them, Holst asked a question about the emperors numbers, but Claude noticed the way that Holst seemed a bit more stiff now. 

After the meal, Holst thanked them and took off, and Hilda turned to Claude, brows furrowed.

“Why are you wearing my hair ties around? Do you  _ want _ people to think that we are…” Hilda waved her hands around.

“Sorry, sorry. I forgot about them. I wasn’t expecting your brother to have the eyes of a hawk. And besides, he probably didn’t even know they were yours.”

“He definitely did,” Hilda groaned, embarrassed, “a few years ago, I decided to make a bunch of hair ties a while ago, since I got really into doing hair, and Holst helped me out, especially with the little charms.” She pointed to the small metal heart attached to it.

“So he definitely knew, huh?”

Hilda nodded. “He definitely did. You may be able to scheme your way out of just about everything, but how are you going to scheme your way out of an overprotective older brother?” Hilda laughed.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” he laughed, “it’s not like he can kill me.”

“Hm, true. However, he could definitely beat you up.”

“He probably would too. I’ve read some of those letters he wrote you. ‘Dearest sister, I’ve noticed an alarming number of men getting close to you through your letters. While I’m sure that you are able to handle things on your own, if any of them were to overstep their boundaries, please inform me as I would not hesitate to-’”

“Stop, stop,” Hilda cried, “those were so embarrassing! And how do you even remember that much of it anyways?”

“You remember it when someone is indirectly threatening you in such...interesting ways.”

“Hm,” Hilda pouted, “it really would be a shame if Holst did do any of those things. Your face is your best asset.”

“Why Hilda, I’m wounded. I’ve got plenty of other great assets. My aim, my brain, my tongue.”

Hilda laughed, “that tongue of yours has gotten us into trouble more times than I can count. Like that time you told Seteth we were behind the chapel after curfew because we were just  _ that _ pious, and then you were so drunk you forgot all of the names of the four saints.” Claude chuckled as well.

“He was so angry when I messed up Cethleann’s name, I thought he was going to strangle me right then and there.” 

Hilda laughed, but then her entire smile fell as she looked down, biting her lower lip. “Claude...what will happen from now on? Will we ever be able to sit and joke around like this again after we leave? And...that night, I remember we were so loud walking back to the dorms, Ingrid and Edelgard both came out of their rooms and yelled at us.”

"They were so mad."

Hilda laughed a bit, though her eyes were still watery. “We’ll never have times like that again, and I just don’t understand why.”

“Hilda,” Claude paused a moment, trying to find the right words, “we may not be able to have those moments with Edelgard or Ingrid anymore, and I may not be right down the hall anymore, but we’ll still be friends, won’t we?” Hilda sniffled, nodded, and hugged Claude.

“I’ll visit Derdriu as much as I can.” Claude smiled down at her, but his eyes were uncharacteristically sad. “What’s wrong?” She felt Claude stiffen. “What, you think you’re the only one who can read people? I’ve spent enough time with you, Claude. I know the face you make when you’re upset.”

“I guess we really can’t hide anything from each other. What would you do if I ended up really far away? Much farther than Derdriu.”

“Hmm,” Hilda thought for a moment, “you  _ know _ I hate extra work, but if it’s for you I might be willing to travel a little far.” Hilda’s brain took another direction.  _ Why? If you’re going that far, why would you not take me with you? _

They sat in comfortable silence, until they realized how late it had gotten and both had to turn in for the night.

“Claude...I don’t know when the next time we’ll see each other will be.” Hilda kneeled in front of where Claude sat leaning against the side of the building, looking straight at him. “And…the next time we see each other, who knows what will be happening. one of us might even be dead.”

“I hope not.”

“I feel the same, but if the unexpected happens, I…I can’t bear the thought of one of us dying without telling yo—-showing you—I…” Hilda grabbed his cheeks. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”

He said nothing. 

It was a desperate kiss. Both of them unsure if it would be their last. She cradled his face in her hands, while his rested on her waist. The two began to let out small noises, eventually quietly moaning each others name.

Claude’s mouth wandered across her cheek, almost approaching her ear, but turning down instead and Hilda was  _ so _ glad that she tied her hair in pigtails, leaving her neck clear of hair. She tangled her hands into his hair, pulling it slightly, but the slight pain was reciprocated as Claude lightly bit her neck.

“C-Claude, we should turn in for the night.” Claude agreed, and they went to the dormitories, but continued in Claude’s bed exactly where they had left off outside.

In the morning when Claude awoke, Hilda, Holst, and the Goneril soldiers had all left. Claude sat up, deciding that it was probably late enough, and noticed something on his side table. Pink paper, and next to it, two pink hairties.

_ Dearest Claude, I’m sorry for leaving before you’ve woken up, but my brother wishes to leave, and he’s difficult to argue with. I wish we could talk more, especially about...what happened. I hope to see you again soon. _

_ All my love, Hilda. _

_ P.S. You can keep the hairties since you seemed to love wearing them so much. _

Claude sighed, folded the paper, and prepared to leave, knowing that in 5 years, he would be back, and he hoped she would be too.


	2. Fountains in the Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Aw, a pretty lady shouldn’t frown so deeply, why don’t we head back inside and get a drink.”
> 
> “Please, I know that I could use a glass of wine. Or ten.” Claude laughed.
> 
> “Don’t you worry milady,” Claude’s voice dropped into a whisper as they walked through the doors back into the ballroom, “I know where to find the stronger stuff.”
> 
> Hilda dramatically sighed, “you really do know the way to a woman’s heart, don’t you Duke Riegan?”

Within a few days, Edelgard’s troops left the area, leaving Garreg Mach an empty shell of what it once was. The academy’s newest professor, as well as the archbishop, both went missing in the battle. 

And thus, two years passed. 

Claude knew he shouldn’t be feeling this way, but he truthfully didn’t care very much about his grandfather’s death. He had only known the man for a few years, and had been nearly running the Alliance already. 

With the war against the Empire being two years in, Claude needed the power of being the Alliance’s official leader if he was going to make any headway at all, especially with the internal conflicts among the Alliance. 

However, this meant that he now had the boring duty of being the mourning grandson one day, and only three days later, the new head of the Alliance. Numerous nobles had already sent in letters informing House Riegan that they would be making the journey for the funeral of the former Duke Riegan, and the induction of Claude as the new Duke and leader. 

Many people were hesitant about a 20 year old, whose existence they had only learned of a few years prior, but none of them would do anything about it. 

The funeral came quickly, though it was quite small, with the only people in attendance being the heads of the noble families and their direct successors. He saw Marianne and Lorenz, and the three of them talked for quite a while.

It was from this conversation that he learned that Lysithea was also in Derdriu, but would only be coming for his induction. Lorenz had begun to grow out his hair, and became very flustered when Claude pointed out that it was a much better style than the one he had two years prior, while Marianne seemed to be becoming more confident. 

There also seemed to be...something about the two of them, but whether it was only a mutual crush or an established relationship, Claude couldn’t tell. 

Holst also came over and said hello, and said something that made Claude’s stomach jump. Hilda was also in the capital, and he would be seeing her in a mere three days. 

It was difficult to imagine how the last time they saw each other was two years ago, especially with how they left each other. 

The days between the two events flew by, and suddenly Claude was being dressed by the maids in the fanciest cloths they could find. He had truly been spending too much time on the battlefield, as his first thought was that if he drew a bow, it would all rip.

Still, he was only here for a week, and then back to the battlefield. He could last a week without ripping clothing. 

He was basically dragged from place to place throughout the banquet, eyes darting to catch a glimpse of that bright pink hair. He’d seen Lorenz at least twelve times, and he was almost inclined to believe she was avoiding him. Almost.

Then, finally, he saw her, slipping out a door onto a balcony. He promptly, yet politely, excused himself from whatever conversation he was having for air. 

Outside, he noticed that she was leaning over the balcony, wearing formal attire she would have loved back in their academy days. He also noticed that she had not noticed him being outside. He crept slowly, getting as close as he could, then-

“Boo!” Hilda screeched and practically jumped out of her skin, whipping around to face him, and only settling down when she saw his smile.

“Duke Riegan! You terrified me! That is not the way to announce your presence to a lady.”

“‘Duke Riegan’? Isn’t that a little too formal?” Hilda flushed, averting her eyes.

“Well, I thought it would be the most appropriate way to address you, now that you are the leader of the Leicester Alliance.”

“I’m still the same old Claude, Hilda. Are you not?”

“I-I can’t be. I’m expected to be a perfect noblewoman. My father and my brother need me to be proper and get married. Back at the officer’s academy I hated being on the battlefield, but now all I want is to help and I can’t.” Hilda stopped herself, and realizing that a few tears had fallen during her small outburst, she took a compact mirror out of seemingly nowhere and made sure her makeup was perfect. 

“But why? If your father and brother didn’t want you to become a soldier, surely they wouldn’t have sent you to the academy in the first place.”

“Things were different then. There is a war now, my family has to be prepared for the worst. My mother is dead and my brother is unmarried. If something were to happen in battle, my family would be without an heir.”

“What if it were an official request from the leader of the Alliance?” Claude looked at her with that smirk that meant he was about to scheme.

“Claude, no, I’d love to, but I just can’t.” Hilda looked at him with pleading eyes. She always was so good at getting what she wanted.

“One year.”

“Huh?”

“If one year has passed, and the war is still going on, will you come with me?” Hilda blushed at his wo rding.

“What, Mister Leader Man, do you not plan to win us this war in a year?” She matched his smirk with her own.

“I  _ hope _ to, but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly likely.”

“Hm,” Hilda put a finger to her chin in thought, “how about this: if a year passes, and the Alliance has won  _ one _ decisive battle, then I’ll join your main forces. Oh, and Holst must agree to this.”

“Sounds like a deal, milady,” Claude brought her gloved hand up to his face and pressed a kiss to it, thinking about how thick leather gloves would likely suit her much better.

“Should you not be getting back in about now? What will those nobles do if their brand new leader disappears on them?”

Claude laughed, “Celebrate even more, probably.”

“You’re...probably right,” Hilda sighed, “sadly.” Hilda’s face dropped at how cruel the nobility could be sometimes, especially in a place like the Leicester Alliance where power could shift so easily.

“Aw, a pretty lady shouldn’t frown so deeply, why don’t we head back inside and get a drink.”

“ _ Please _ , I know that I could use a glass of wine. Or ten.” Claude laughed.

“Don’t you worry milady,” Claude’s voice dropped into a whisper as they walked through the doors back into the ballroom, “I know where to find the stronger stuff.”

Hilda dramatically sighed, “you really do know the way to a woman’s heart, don’t you Duke Riegan?”

Claude turned to one of the servants and whispered something to him that Hilda couldn’t hear. The servant left and came back a few moments later with two glasses, one for Claude and one for Hilda.

They were in the middle of a conversation with a nobleman from the southern part of the Alliance, and Claude covertly stopped Hilda from taking a sip until he had walked away, when she saw, or rather  _ tasted _ why.

“Goddess, what the hell did you just give me Claude?”

“What, didn’t you say you could handle the strong stuff?” Claude feigned ignorance, and Hilda took it as a challenge.

And from that moment, neither of them could have stopped their descent into drunken madness.

After sending servants for another glass, and downing those as well, their inhibitions were so incredibly absent that they went into the kitchen and grabbed the whole bottle. And then another just to be safe.

They found themselves in a distant part of the garden, sitting in the basin of a drained water fountain, drinking themselves to oblivion. 

“Oh Claude, I’ve missed you so much. No one else would do this with me.” Hilda threw herself onto his lap, closing one eye and using the other to look into the bottle which they had just finished.

“I feel the same. The only thing I’ve drank in months has been potions and the occasional glass of wine.”

Hilda snorted, “some of those potions  _ are _ strong as hell though. When I couldn’t get alcohol from the shadier merchants back in the academy, I’d nab a few elixirs from the infirmary. Hoo boy, they sure did hit the spot.” Claude laughed, loud and ugly and imperfect, and Hilda loved it.

She sat up and got on her knees, one on each side of him. She looked down at him and crossed her arms behind his neck.

They were focused directly on each other, waiting for something to change, for one of them to move at all.

It seemed to happen in a split second, but suddenly their lips were on each other, hands tangled in hair and in another moment Hilda was lower, now more sitting on his lap than hovering over it. 

Hilda was the first to move from his lips, undoing the first few buttons of his shirt to gain access to his neck and chest. 

“I missed you. I missed you, I missed you, I missed you.” Claude pulled back from Hilda and looked at her, seeing eyes filled with tears about to spill. 

“Oh, Hil,” he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close to him as possible, her face burying itself in his neck, “I missed you too.”

“Claude…”

“I missed you,” he kissed her jaw, “so much,” her neck, “you have,” the base of her neck, “no idea,” and then he reached cloth. 

Hilda wordlessly reached to her back, untying the string that kept her dress up. 

Claude reached her collar bone, sending a shiver down her spine. 

“Claude, please.”

Claude heard her pleas, and agreed, as he secured his hands under her and lifted her up out of the fountain. 

“Wh-“

“It’s too hard. Undo my cape. Put it on the grass.” Hilda did as he asked, and then he smoothed it out with his foot. 

Claude gently set her down on the cape and hovered over her. He gave her a goofy smile, which she reciprocated. 

“Goddess, Claude, I think I love you.”

* * *

Lorenz sighed, exhausted from the night before and even this morning. He managed to keep Claude and Hilda’s absence from the party under wraps by telling everyone that Claude felt unwell (spinning a tale about his grief) and telling a concerned Holst that Hilda had asked Lorenz to tell her brother that she had been just exhausted. 

The moment Marianne and Lysithea told him that they saw the two of them slipping out carrying two bottles of alcohol, he immediately assumed the worst. 

So now it was morning and he was in the gardens, while Marianne and Lysithea searched elsewhere. it wasn’t until he happened upon a dried out fountain with two broken bottles in it, that he saw his worst fear confirmed. 

There they were, feet from the fountain, seemingly covered only by Claude’s small cape from the night before. 

“Goddess!” He said, loud enough to jolt the two of them from sleep. “Get decent, both of you!” He threw two cloaks that he had the brains to bring at them and Hilda, despite still being half asleep, hastily bundled herself in the vastly oversized cloak. Claude, on the other hand, only put it over his lap while he fixed his trousers. 

“What time is it?” Hilda groaned out, rubbing her eyes and looking around.

“It is about six in the morning. You both should be grateful to me. Marianne saw you sneaking out and I came up with excuses for why both of you were not around.” Lorenz noticed that Hilda was too cold to move, so he got her dress from the other side of the clearing and gave it to her.

“Thank you, Lorenz.”

“Yeah, your personality must have been a side effect of those awful bangs you used to have.” Lorenz frowned at Claude, and instinctively brought a hand up to where his uneven bangs had been two years prior.

“My  _ hair _ is beside the point. Your actions last night were irresponsible. Claude, you are now not only the Duke of your territory, but also the leader of the Alliance. Everyone in Leicester territory is looking to you for guidance. And Hilda, your brother was worried about you last night. You both need to think about who you are before doing things like this.”

They both mumbled out a “sorry”, feeling more like Lorenz was their father, as opposed to their friend.

“Get dressed so we can sneak you back inside.”

Hilda yelled at the two boys to close their eyes while she collected her clothes, and when she informed them that she was decent, she looked the same as she had the night before, save for her makeup being smudged, but there was nothing she could do about that without water.

Claude took her to one of the fountains that was operating, and he and Lorenz helped her get the smudged makeup off of her face.

“Ugh, I must look awful right now. Hopefully we won’t be seen at all, but-”

“Shh! Don’t jinx it.”

Walking quietly and quickly, they were so close when they ran into the worst possible person.

“Holst!” Hida quickly covered her shock with a smile, and tightened the cloak so he would be unable to see her dress underneath.

“Hilda? What are you doing this early?” He looked at Lorenz and Claude and his frown deepened.

“I woke up early and decided to go for a walk. It’s nice weather, but I didn’t realize how cold it would be in the morning! I saw Duke Riegan and Sir Lorenz while I was out and we decided to catch up as old classmates.” Holst continued to frown, eyes boring into Claude and Lorenz.

“I see,” his expression didn’t soften, “we’ll speak later.” He put his hand on Hilda’s shoulder and walked away.

“Oh, goddess, that could not have gone  _ worse _ .” Hilda buried her head in her hands.

“He certainly was...intimidating. And I was not even part of your...philandering!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll sort it out. After all, we’ll be alone in a carriage for a few hours and I’m sure that will be his favorite topic of the day,” Hilda sighed.

“I will see you another day, Miss Goneril.” Hilda looked up at Lorenz and, ignoring his extended hand, gave him a big hug.

“Goodbye, Lorenz. I hope to see you soon.”

“...Goodbye, Hilda.”

“Don’t you dare die, okay?” Lorenz frowned, and looked down at Hilda near tears.

“I won’t. I will see you soon.” They hugged again, and he walked away.

Now, left alone, Hilda turned to Claude.

“We have to stop saying goodbye like this, Hil.”

She laughed, “we really do. I’ll see you later, Claude.”

“I’ll see you in a year, Hilda.” Hilda’s already watery eyes spilled over and tears cascaded down her face. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and let out a few quiet sobs. 

“Please be careful Claude, please.” His left arm wrapped around her shoulders, while his right went up to her hair. 

“I will. I promise.”

* * *

“Hilda, please listen, I just want you to be safe.”

“I am, Holst,” she sighed, “but enough about that, nothing happened. I do wish to talk about our conversation from the other day.”

This time it was Holst’s turn to sigh. “I thought we’ve been over this, Hilda. It’s war. I cannot, in good conscience, send my precious sister out to her death. I would be unable to forgive myself.”

Holst’s sad expression almost made Hilda falter, until she remembered her anger. 

“That is irresponsible of you, brother. I am a strong warrior from my time in the Officer’s Academy and I can take care of myself in battle. I cannot sit aside while my friends are near death every day on the battlefield.” Realizing that she may have gotten too heated, Hilda tried to calm herself down. 

“I will consider it.” Holst laughed dryly, “to think, I nearly had to drag you to Garreg Mach. Now look at you. You have matured, Hilda.”

Hearing her brother praise her, not on how she was incredible for just existing or for how she had done her makeup (he tried his best despite knowing very little), but rather for her maturity filled Hilda with happiness. 

“Thank you, brother.” Holst moved closer to her and wrapped one arm around her. 

“I’m just worried for you. You are my baby sister.”

“I do not wish to worry you, I just-“

“I know. I am proud of you, Hilda.” 

Hilda smiled and hugged Holst tighter.

“However,  _ please _ , if you must have a lover, only have one.” Hilda pulled out of his hug, flushed and angry.

“Holst, I have already told you!” 

The two siblings bickered for a while, until Holst finally relented. Finally able to relax, Hilda thought back to the night before. She could remember bits and pieces, but there were still holes.

Then, while digging through her memories, something stood out to her. Something that she wasn’t quite sure that she said but vaguely remembered.

_ “Claude, I think I love you.” _

“Oh no,” Hilda mumbled under her breath, praying to the Goddess that Claude didn’t remember what she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope u liked this chapter!  
Sorry for this being so so late, but I am in college and it's kinda been kicking my ass. I wrote like half of this in the past 24 hours in a random burst of motivation. Thanks for reading!  
Little bit of a disclaimer, but this is a work of fiction and people who are inebriated cannot consent!

**Author's Note:**

> There we go! Keep an eye out for chapters to be added later (tags and possibly rating may end up changing with future updates !!!)


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